A Beginner’s Guide to Amazon SES

Amazon SES is a simple way to send emails that reach people’s inboxes. Whether you run a business, an app, or just need to send updates
Start small, test carefully, and scale as you grow.

How to Set Up Amazon SES

Step-by-Step:
✅Pick a Region
Choose the AWS location closest to your users or app.

✅Verify Your Domain or Email Address

Go to Verified Identities in the SES dashboard.
Add your domain (like yourcompany.com) or email.
Add the DNS records they give you (this proves you own the address).
Wait for confirmation (usually just a few minutes).

✅Request Production Access
By default, SES limits you to 200 emails/day.

Request full access so you can send more.

✅Set Up Email Security (Authentication)

Add SPF and DKIM records to your domain.

These tell email providers that your messages are safe.

Optional: Add a Mail-From domain for more control.

✅Create Your Email Credentials

Generate SMTP username and password for sending email.

Only give this access to your app or team (never share publicly).

✅Send a Test Email

Use Amazon’s simulator, an email client, or a script Make sure it works before you go live.

A Quick way to test if SES works Using SMTP:

✅Open SES in the AWS Console

Search for SES and choose your region.

✅Create SMTP Credentials

Go to SMTP Settings → Create Credentials
Save your username and password (you can’t see them again).

✅Verify Your Sender Email

Add the sender’s email address in SES
Click the confirmation link from your inbox

✅Send a Test Email

Use tools like Thunderbird, Postman, or a simple code script

You’ll need:
SMTP server: email-smtp.us-east-1-amazonaws.com

Port: 587 or 465

Your verified email and the SMTP login details

** How to Send an Email with an AWS Lambda Function **

Sometimes you want an email to go out automatically when something happens (a new user signs up, a payment is received, and so on). You can do that by invoking a Lambda function that calls Amazon SES.

✅Create Your Lambda Function